The Royal Saskatchewan Museum is continuing its multi-year project tracking how wildlife responds to life in and around Regina.
Since the fall of 2021, researchers have been monitoring animal activity through the Regina Urban Wildlife Project, a collaboration with the University of Regina.
The goal is to understand how different parts of the city support wildlife, and how species adapt to urban development.
Twenty-eight biodiversity monitoring stations have been installed over the last three years, equipped with motion-triggered trail cameras and automated microphones. The equipment captures images of large mammals and records bird songs and bat calls.
Stations are distributed evenly across central, suburban and rural areas around Regina, and are active for one-month periods in the spring, summer, fall and winter.
"The Royal Saskatchewan Museum is not only an amazing museum, it is a centre for excellence when it comes to research," Parks, Culture and Sport Minister Alana Ross said. "This is such a wonderful example of the innovative research taking place behind the scenes at the museum."
So far, researchers have detected 143 different bird species and 15 mammal species. Notable hotspots for wildlife include the Habitat Conservation Area in Wascana Park, AE Wilson Park and the former Craig Golf Course.
"Urban centres like Regina can provide valuable habitat for the conservation and management of wildlife," said Dr. Ryan Fisher, curator of vertebrate zoology at the museum. "This research helps us understand how different levels of urban development influence wildlife."
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American Robins and Canada Geese were the most commonly recorded birds. Among mammals, White-tailed Jackrabbits and Richardson's Ground Squirrels showed up most often on camera.
"Initial observations indicate no real impact from urbanization on the number of mammal species that we are seeing," Fisher said. "This is likely because a lot of the mammals we observed around Regina are fairly well-adapted. Even in very urban areas such as the Regina Cemetery on 4th Avenue, we observed both deer and red fox."
An American Mink, a rare but known city resident, was the most unusual mammal recorded. Researchers also detected moose in Wascana Park, near SaskPolytech and the Wascana Country Club.
Suburban locations showed the greatest variety of bird life, likely due to a mix of habitat types, but some species were found more frequently outside city limits, including wetland and grassland birds.
Among the rarest audio captures were a Yellow Rail, a species of special concern, near Wascana Country Club, and a Black-billed Cuckoo near the Saskatchewan Science Centre, an extremely rare find for Regina.
"Regina supports a diverse wildlife community, especially in areas around Wascana Lake and Wascana Creek, but also in the various treed neighbourhoods, parks and green spaces in the city," Fisher said. "We will continue monitoring these same sites every few years to understand how wildlife is changing as Regina grows and expands."
Fisher also reminded residents not to disturb any monitoring equipment they may come across.